SECTION 55.405. Employer/Owner Responsibilities

(a) The owner of a party boat may not operate or allow the operation of a boat as a party boat unless it has passed an annual water safety inspection conducted or authorized by the department within the previous 12 months.

(b) The owner of a party boat must maintain at least a minimum of $300,000 of liability insurance from an insurer licensed to do business in this state.

(c) The owner of a party boat may not knowingly:

(1) permit a person to operate a party boat at any time that the person is prohibited under the provisions of this subchapter from operating a party boat; or

(2) train a person to operate a party boat for purposes of obtaining a party boat operator's license unless the person is employed by the owner and has completed a boating safety course approved by the department. This paragraph does not apply if six or fewer passengers are aboard at the time a person is being trained.

(d) The owner of a party boat shall ensure that a list of emergency procedures is posted in a conspicuous location on a party boat at all times that paying passengers are aboard the vessel. The list shall set forth, at a minimum, procedures or instructions for the following:

(1) use of radio-telephone, if the vessel is equipped with a radio-telephone;

(2) man overboard;

(3) fire or explosion;

(4) leaks or damage control;

(5) location of personal flotation devices;

(6) location of escape hatches and escape routes;

(7) abandoning ship; and

(8) location of first-aid kit.

(e) On vessels that do not have or are not required to have a vessel capacity plate, the passenger capacity may be determined from the application of any one of the following formulae to the vessel:

(1) one passenger per 30 inches of rail space available to passengers at the vessel's sides and across the transom;

(2) one passenger per 10 square feet of deck area available for passenger use, not including concession stands, toilets, washrooms, companionways, or stairways; and

(3) one passenger per 18 inches of width of fixed seating area provided.

Source Note: The provisions of this §55.405 adopted to be effective January 1, 2008, 32 TexReg 10011